Pawling is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. Its population was 8,463 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Catherine Pauling, the daughter of Henry Beekman, who held the second largest land patent in the county. A misprint caused the U to change to a W and the name stuck.

The Town of Pawling is in the southeast part of the county. The town has a village of Pawling.

A part of the town was involved in a boundary problem involving New York and Connecticut. A section of the town, located in the "Oblong"—the name was given to the disputed oblong strip of land, two miles in width forming part of the Eastern boundary of the now Dutchess and Putnam Counties—was settled by Nathan Birdsall and his wife Jane Langdon, they were the first pioneer settlers of Quaker Hill, Dutchess, NY. He was a native of Long Island and was born about 1700 of Quaker parents. He was one of the surveyors of the area and picked his home site during the survey.

Nathan purchased his land from the Great Nine Partners Patent, and prior to moving his family there, he erected a log house and barn, probably around 1720. The next settler was Benjamin Ferris, a Quaker preacher. It was not until 1731, when the one-hundred-year-old dispute as to the boundary between the English in New England and the Dutch in New York was settled, that emigration started in any volume, a number of "Friends" coming from Harrisons Purchase, now a part of Rye, in Westchester County, New York. Quaker Meeting House is still standing today, and open for visitors. George Washington established his headquarters at the John Kane House in the town (now the village) for two months in 1778. The town was founded in 1788, but part of the town was used to form the neighboring Town of Dover in 1807.

The oldest public golf course in the United States, the Dutcher Golf Course, also is in Pawling, and still in use. The Pawling Corporation is headquartered there.

Pawling is also host to the worlds shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The annual parade is held on Broad Street in the Village of Pawling at a length of 223 Feet.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 45.0 square miles (117 km2), of which 44.2 square miles (114 km2) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) (1.80%) is water.

The eastern and western section of the towns are high and hilly, with the Great Swamp and Harlem Valley in the middle, where the village of Pawling is located. The highest elevation in town is Observatory Hill, at 1,332 feet (406 m) above sea level; the lowest is 420 feet (130 m), in the Great Swamp along the south boundary of town.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 7,521 people, 2,823 households, and 1,987 families living in the town. The population density was 170.2 people per square mile (65.7/km²). There were 3,101 housing units at an average density of 70.2 per square mile (27.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.43% White, 1.46% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.85% of the population.

There were 2,823 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town, the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $61,380 and the median income for a family was $70,056. Males had a median income of $47,143 versus $35,063 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,043. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Since 1878 Pawling has operated under a Council-Manager form of government. The Town Supervisor is the chief administrative officer of the town & village, selected to carry out the directives of the Council. The Deputy Supervisor monitors the town's fiscal condition and enforces its ordinances and laws. The Town Supervisor is also involved in the discussion of all matters coming before Council yet has no final vote. The Town Board is the legislative body consisting of the Town Supervisor and four council members. The Town Supervisor serves as the presiding officer of the Council. The Council functions to set policy, approve the annual budget, appoint the Town Supervisor and Town Clerk, and enact local laws, resolutions & ordinances.

The Pawling Fire District is the fire department that covers the Town Of Pawling. By keeping buildings up to code, controlling illegal occupancies, monitoring the safety of living-areas and issuing licenses and permits, the department works to control the potential for dangerous situations. The fire district operates three fire stations spread out all over the town, as their district covers a large area. The department is capable of handling fires, rescues, extrications and natural disasters. The PFD operates a varied fire apparatus fleet, however does not provide Emergency Medical Services. Both BLS and ALS EMS calls are handled by EMStar Ambulance who are contracted to provide the town one ambulance to provide 24/7 ambulance service. In the event of numerous calls within a short amount of time, EMStar ambulances are pulled from neighboring towns including Beekman, or if a backfill unit is available, it will respond from nearby.

Police protection to the Town of Pawling is provided by the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police. The sheriffs have a substation located in the middle of the village, near the train station. When someone calls 911, the call is routed to the Dutchess 911 center in Poughkeepsie, New York and then police are polled for, and the closest unit responds. The MTA Police also cover the center of town as the Metro-North RailroadHarlem Line passes through town and with a train station.

Pawling has several free standing doctors offices and clinics including Village Medical and The Atrium. Pawling has no hospitals, but within a short distance from town are three medical centers. MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center and Vassar Brothers Medical Center are located in nearby Poughkeepsie, New York. Putnam Hospital Center is located in Carmel, New York in Putnam County. There are several urgent care centers located nearby including in Carmel and LaGrange.